The Power of Change

Tomorrow is the first day of a brand new year. Tomorrow you get to become anyone in the world that you wish. Who are you? You can choose to by anyone, alive today or someone gone long ago. If you decide to stay “you” share your rationale.

The ability to become someone, anyone else—wouldn’t that be an amazing power? Maybe, maybe not. I mean think about it, if I became another person I would have their body. It would be their hands I would be using to put aftershave on my face. It would be their hands I used to scratch that itch on the back of my left leg. Let’s face it, I don’t want anyone else’s hands doing any such thing to me! But, wait a minute, it wouldn’t be my face, it would be their face and their leg, but it would be mine because I would be them; so it would be my hand scratching my itch, but not really my hand. Yeah, this gets confusing quickly!

I guess a common response to such a prompt would be to change into someone rich and famous. Following that rationale I should choose someone like George Clooney. What would be the advantage of being Mr. Clooney? Hmm, I would be considered one of the sexiest men in the world. I would be extremely wealthy. I would have a bevy of beauties at my beck and call. I would be a well-established and respected member of the Hollywood elite.

Now, I won’t lie and say that none of those would be appealing or tempting to some degree; but, all the same, I think I would pass. Being in someone else’s body, in someone else’s skin is not something I would have any desire to do. It feels a bit creepy to me. A bit too much like Buffalo Bill (the Silence of the Lambs guy, not the Wild West legend!).

Or, how about a radical thought, how about choosing to be someone deplorable? How about choosing to be some great villain? Hear me out on this. What if I chose to become Charles Manson for instance. But, instead of committing his heinous crimes, I simply stayed out in the desert and mediated my entire life. Or, I become some other serial killer (Dahmer, Bundy, Gacy . . . etc.) and instead of committing their crimes, I instead choose to be a philanthropist or a social worker? Maybe even further, what about Hitler, Stalin, Hussein . . . et al. and instead of committing such inhumane atrocities, I choose to be a benevolent and merciful leader. Instead of building concentration camps I build hospitals and schools and libraries. Instead of executing thousands or millions of innocent people, I choose to be a man of charity and kindness.

Thus, I could erase some of the most heinous and vicious crimes ever committed in the history of humanity.

It would be quite a thing to have such power.

Of course, there could be a catch-22 here. What if one of these villains, or countless others, could choose to become some great, inspiring figure and commit atrocities in their name? What if they chose to be some great spiritual leader, but then chose to become a tyrant?

It would be nice to remove the ill and wrong from the world, at least a good bit of it. Unfortunately, it is not possible, at least not in that way. Though it is true I have a part to play in making this world a better place. Sure, it may be a much slower and limited process; but, it is still worthwhile.

God has called me to be me. God has called me to make a difference in the world I inhabit on a daily basis. I may not be able to reach thousands and millions of people at one time, but I can reach one or two or maybe even ten. They in turn, doing their part, can reach others. Before you know it, the principle of multiplicity has taken effect: meaning more people are reached than one person could ever dream.

I know, it seems a bit fictional. It seems like some pie-in-the-sky, too-good-to-be-true philosophical mumbo jumbo. Yet, perhaps to our surprise, it is possible. It is not so far removed from reality as we may think. I know there have been people who have influenced and impacted my life. What would have happened if they had not been there, doing what they were doing? They didn’t do any superhero feat. They didn’t open the portals to heaven and show me mysterious things. They simply were there. They were helpful, they were passionate, they were willing to do their part.

In the end, I think I will just stay little old me. There is simply too much I would have to give up to become someone else . . . and, quite frankly, they are not worth it.

I strive to be who Christ has created and called me to be. Do I fail? Yep. Do I disappoint him and me? Yes. But, I keep striving. As the apostle Paul says, I keep pushing forward to the prize. It is a struggle. It is a constant learning and growing. Sometimes you take two steps forward, only to fall back three . . . but you continue, you persist. Christ has called his followers to this path. It is not an easy one, he never said it would be; in fact, he promised it wouldn’t be!

We all have our part. We all have our time upon the stage. Let us play our part and play it well.

The metamorphosis I should be concentrating on is my own. Not to be someone else, but to be a better me. This is the true power, the real magic of human life. I can never be George Clooney. I can never right the wrongs of tyrants. But, I can be a better me. And, in the end, that will make all the difference.